Finance committee  Well, to the extent that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has a bias, it's for more debate and analysis, and to make that available to you all so that you have a better level of discourse. We're not really well positioned to provide legislative advice on whether omnibus bills or

Finance committee  No.

Finance committee  I think it is really important that all parliamentarians have the information they need for examining the restraint program before the authorities approve it. I think it is necessary to have information that establishes the level of spending, the changes, and program activities

Finance committee  We do not have a mandate to study all of the issues relating to policies and to determine what the best program is in terms of policies to stimulate productivity. That is really not our office's mandate.

Finance committee  If legislation is introduced by the government, it is possible for our office to examine the impact of the programs. However, it is not our role to develop policies.

Finance committee  It's a very good question. We could put together a survey and we'd be happy to do that for you, because we use methodology that's very similar to a number of other countries, certainly that of the U.S., which is not sustainable. We share similar methodologies with the United King

Finance committee  We would be back to where we were when we did our 2011 fiscal sustainability report, which showed that the federal government would have a fiscal gap, meaning it would not have a sustainable fiscal structure. We would not have a structure in place that would deal with aging demog

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, the report released yesterday by the PBO is actually a very favourable report on Canada's labour market. Just to reiterate some of the points you've made, I think it shows that certainly in level terms, we are much better than where we were prior to the recession. We

Finance committee  I think there are foreign and some domestic risks as well. I think balancing the external risks, as raised by a member here today, is much more significant than the incredible uncertainty surrounding the fiscal situation in the United States. I think the euro crisis is another si

Finance committee  I would agree, sir.

Finance committee  At present, we have received information from nearly 50% of the departments and agencies and about 25% of the information from the departments and agencies relating to jobs and work force. The figures are almost the same for the services. What we are receiving is still falling sh

Finance committee  That is correct; we are missing information about the strategic and operating review.

Finance committee  I do not have the time and capacity to do a proper examination of a budget bill.

Finance committee  No.

Finance committee  Sir, I certainly agree with the premise that it is a different fiscal situation facing the federal government as a result of some tough actions with respect to the Canada health transfer, the freezing of direct program spending for five years, effectively, and the change to age e